account of the fossil reptiles), could have committed such a blunder is really inexplicable. The researches of Mr. Mantell have proved that the strata formerly called the iron sand abound with organic remains; all of which, or with but very few exceptions, are fresh-water or terrestrial: and the memoirs of Dr. Fitton and Mr. Webster, on the strata below the chalk, have long since established the true relations and characters of that interesting group of beds, now universally termed the Hastings' deposits. Surely so important a discovery ought not to have been unnoticed in a New System of Geology. But, Sir, were I only to point out the incorrect quotations, and the extracts from other works, put together without due consideration, and therefore leading to inferences which the writers never could have contemplated, I should occupy too great a portion of your valuable pages. I must content myself with merely noticing, in conclusion, that the plates of organic remains are shamefully incorrect. The Scaphites æqualis (pl. 2.), a fossil peculiar to the lower beds of the chalk, is figured as a shell of the LIAS! Mya intermèdia, of the London clay (pl. 3.), is called a characteristic fossil of the under oolite! and, in plate 4., the shells figured as peculiar to the cornbrash and upper oolites are a medley of chalk and tertiary shells, with a few from the oolite: for instance, there are figured Turrilìtes costàtus and Vermiculària umbonàta, found in the grey chalk marl; Hamìtes gibbòsus, from the galt; Protellària macróptera and Turritélla conöídea, from the tertiary beds, &c.! These errors must have arisen from sheer inattention; but when a man like Dr. Ure, distinguished in the scientific world by his talents and admirable works, announces a "new system" of any science, have we not a right to expect that he will condescend to avoid such egregious errors? errors, too, which must so entirely mislead the uninitiated. No one can entertain a higher respect for Dr. Ure's talents as a chemist than myself, and I deeply regret he should have placed his so respectable name to the publication which has occasioned these remarks. I beg to repeat, Sir, that if any of my observations appear to you incorrect or too severe, you will suppress or alter them as you may think proper. If my strictures are correct, how, Sir, can we understand the unqualified praise bestowed on this work in Brande's Journal and other periodicals? We know what Lord Byron said of my "grandmother's review; " but the ones I allude to are above the reach of suspicion.-H. August, 1829.

Mount

Form and Aspect of Mountains. — Most of the principal mountains have one of their sides very steep, and the other gradually sloping. The Alps may be instanced as an example, having a much more abrupt descent on the side of Italy than on that of Switzerland; the Pyrenees again, are steeper towards the south than the north; while the chain of Asturias, which branches westward from the Pyrenees, is just the reverse. Taurus, in the part where it approaches the Mediterranean and the Dardanelles, is abrupt on the south, but in Armenia it has a rapid descent northward. The mountains of Scandinavia are steeper towards the west and north-west than the east and south-east; and the Ghauts in Hindostan are, in like manner, precipitous on the west, and sloping in the opposite direction. In all these chains the steepest side is found to be that which is nearest the sea, and consequently their inclination is most gradual towards the interior of the country in which they are situated. J. R.

Fossil Charcoal accounted for. I was particularly struck with a phenomenon recorded by Dr. Richardson, the naturalist in Captain Franklin's expedition of discovery, respecting the shale on the coasts of the Arctic Sea. This shale composed precipitous banks, which, in many places, were on fire. "The shale," adds Dr. Richardson, "takes fire in consequence of its containing a considerable quantity of sulphur in a state of such minute division, that it very readily attracts oxygen from the atmosphere, and inflames." Nothing, I think, could explain in a more satisfactory manner

the occurrence of charcoal in coal measures and other mineral strata. In the anthracite mines of North America, for example, wood charcoal occurs, with the ligneous structure as well marked as in charcoal recently prepared.-J. R.

Volcanoes. It is remarkable that in the old continent the principal chains of mountains contain no volcanoes, and that islands and the extremities of peninsulas are alone the seats of these; while, in the new world, the immense range which runs along the shore of the Pacific Ocean possesses more volcanoes than are to be met with in the whole of the old continent and its adjacent islands. — J. R.

Trachyte. What was formerly denominated Trap-porphyry is now called Trachyte, and is a granular fissured rock, formed of glassy felspar and hornblende, in which augite, mica, laminar felspar, and quartz, also occur. All the summits of volcanoes are composed of this rock, whether they be low hills, like those of Saxony, or rise, like the Andes, to 17,700 ft. high; the latter, probably, situated on a crevice traversing the whole continent, over an extent of 105 geographical leagues, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. (Humboldt's Tabl. de la Nature.)

Chemical Powers of Magnetism. The following experiment is by the Abbé Rendu. If a bent glass tube be filled with the tincture of red cabbage, and two iron wires suspended to the poles of a magnet be immersed in the liquid in the two branches, the tincture will, in a quarter of an hour, become blue, or of a deep green in both branches of the tube, although the magnetism of the two wires must be of different kinds. The same result is produced, if well tempered and polished steel needles be used in place of the wires. If one wire be removed, the effect takes place only in the other branch of the tube where the wire remains. The same results occur if the wires are not in contact with a magnet; but being then cleaned, they are found to have become magnetic. Tincture of litmus undergoes similar changes, but far more slowly, and the colour becomes green only in the leg containing the north wire.

M. Biot considered that the oxidation of the wires might in these produce the ordinary effects of a voltaic current, but that as magnetism exerted its influence, notwithstanding the presence of interposed bodies, he advised M. Rendu to separate the wires from the tincture, by glass tubes closed at their lower extremities. In this case, even according to Rendu, the same phenomena were produced, but much more slowly. The tincture of red cabbage, however, became perfectly green in two days. Mém. de Savoie. Bull. Univ. A.x. 196. (Brande's Quart. Journal, Oct.-Dec. 1828, p. 429.) Scottish Gold. It is a prevalent opinion amongst the peasantry in Scotland, that gold may be discovered by examining the sheep which feed on the pastures where it is subjacent. The following are the supposed effects of this sort of pasture, as given in Bellenden's translation of Boetius's Cosmographe of Albion:- "The sheep that gangis [pastures] on Dundore are yellow; their teeth are hued like gold; their flesh red, as it were littit [dyed] with saffron; their wool is on the same manner." Cordiner, in his Picturesque Antiquities, also mentions this hill, which is in the north of Scotland, and spells it Dun d'Or, " the hill of gold." The people, he adds, assert that the sheep have their teeth beautifully gilded. J. R.

Lead Ore. Miners, supposing blende to be changed into lead glance, talk of a mine's not being ripe. This is improbable; but a mine may be too ripe, as appears from an instance at Lead Hills in Scotland, where the vein which now contains the carbonates, sulphates, and phosphates, must once have been replete with the more valuable sulphuret of lead. (Haidinger in Edin. Phil. Trans., xi. 73.)

ART. V. Meteorology.

RULES for the Weather. A wet summer is always followed by a frosty winter, but it happens occasionally that the cold extends no farther. Two remarkable instances of this occurred in 1807-8 and 1813-14. With these exceptions, every frosty winter has been followed by a cold summer.

The true cause of cold, or rather the direct cause, is to be found in the winter excess of west wind, every winter with excess of west wind being followed by a cold summer; and if there is no cold before, or during a first excess, then a second excess of west wind in winter occasions a still colder summer than the first. It also appears, by repeated experience, that cold does not extend to more than two years at a time.

Again, if the winter excess of east wind be great, in the first instance, the winters will be mild, and followed by mild summers; while the summer excess of east wind is itself, in the first instance, always mild; but uniformly followed by cold winters and cold summers, which continue, more or less, for one or two years, according to circumstances. (Mackenzie, Syst. of the Weather.)

Electricity of the Winds. — In the Mediterranean Mr. Black ascertained, by numerous observations, that winds or currents of vapour of some continuance from an extent of sea, are negatively charged with electricity; while those from the land, especially from hilly countries, are relatively in a positive condition. When opposite winds, such as north and south, are differently charged with electricity and meet, a transfer of the electric matter is always the consequence. (Journ. in Mediternan.)

Air for Analysis. To collect air for the purpose of analysis, instead of emptying a bottle filled with water, as is usually done, M. Gaultry de Claubry employs a saturated solution of sulphate of magnesia in the same way. (Annales de Chimie, vol. xxxvii. p. 380.)

Malaria the Cause of Sun-stroke.-Dr. M'Culloch is of opinion that the sun-stroke, or coup-de-soleil, as it is called, which proves so often fatal in hot climates, and is commonly attributed to the sun, is probably nothing more than the access of marsh fever, caused by exposure to malaria on the previous evening or morning. It is not, however, denied, that exposure to a burning vertical sun may not produce inflammation of the brain, and prove rapidly fatal. (Brande's Journ., vii.)

Analysis of the South-west Wind. This wind consists of air flowing from the south, and seeming occasionally absorbed at its arrival at the more northern latitudes. It has a real direction from the west, owing to its not having lost in its journey the greater velocity it had acquired from the earth's surface whence it came. -J. R.

Halo round the Sun.· The last time I was at Resley, I witnessed a colourless halo round the sun, precisely like those usually seen surrounding the moon, except that the diameter of the circle seemed larger than those of lunar haloes usually are. It continued for a quarter of an hour or so. I had never witnessed a solar halo before, and was in hopes I should have, for once, seen a parhelion, or mock sun; but no such phenomenon occurred, the halo gradually dying away. - John Thompson. Hull, July 20. 1829. Rules for determining the Temperature of a Country. The fact that a degree of latitude is equal to a degree of Fahrenheit, and that 400 ft. of elevation is equal, also, to a degree of Fahrenheit, is original and curious, and will go far to assist us in determining the clime of any country. (Amer. Quart. Rev., March 1829, p. 174.)

469

PART IV.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ART. I. Natural History in Foreign Countries.

FRANCE.

After present

DR. GALL'S Mode of studying the Characters of Animals. ing my letters of introduction to him at seven o'clock in the morning, he showed me into a room, the walls of which were covered with birdcages, and the floor with dogs and cats, &c. Observing that I was surprised at the number of his companions, he observed, “ All you Englishmen take me for a birdcatcher. I am sure you feel surprised that I am not somewhat differently made to any of you, and that I should employ my time talking to birds. Birds, Sir, differ in their dispositions, like men; and if they were but of more consequence, the peculiarity of their characters would have been as well delineated. Do you think," said he, turning his eyes to two beautiful dogs at his feet, which were endeavouring to gain his attention, "do you think that these little pets possess pride and vanity like man?" "Yes," I said, "I have remarked their vanity frequently." "We will call both feelings into action," said he. He then caressed the whelp, and took it into his arms. "Mark his mother's offended pride," said he, as she walked quietly across the chamber to her mat. "Do you think she will come if I call her?" "O yes," I answered. No, not at all." He made the attempt, but she heeded not the hand she had so earnestly endeavoured to lick but an instant before. "She will not speak to me to-day," said the Doctor.

.

He then described to me the peculiarities of many of his birds, and I was astonished to find that he seemed familiar also with their dispositions (if I may be allowed the word). "Do you think a man's time would be wasted thus in England? You are a wealthy and powerful nation; and, as long as the equilibrium exists between the two, so shall you remain : but this never has existed, nor can, beyond a certain period. Such is your industry, stimulated by the love of gain, that your whole life is spun out before you are aware the wheel is turning; and so highly do you value commerce, that it stands in the place of self-knowledge and an acquaintance with Nature and her immense laboratory." (E. A. T. in Med, and Phys. Jour., Nov.) The Chameleon's Antipathy to Black. Whatever may be the cause, the fact seems to be certain, that the chameleon has an antipathy to things of a black colour. One, which Forbes kept, uniformly avoided a black board which was hung up in the chamber; and, what is most remarkable, when it was forcibly brought before the black board, it trembled violently, and assumed a black colour. (Oriental Mem., i. 350.)

It may be something of the same kind which makes bulls and turkeycocks dislike the colour of scarlet, a fact of which there can be no doubt. J. R.

Young of the Fresh-water Muscle. M. Raspail, on observing the freshwater muscle microscopically, perceived it eject a granular parcel, which, when torn, gave out a number of small bivalves, very lively, one third of a

millimetre in length, and furnished with umbilical cords. The shell was formed of phosphate of lime and scarcely a trace of the carbonate of lime could be discovered. This, it may be remarked, invalidates M. Blainville's account of eggs expelled by the animal; and M. Jacobson's, of the little shells being parasites. (Bulletin des Sciences, tom. xiv.)

Earthworm oviparous.· M. Léon Dufour appears to have determined that the earthworm (Lumbrìcus terrestris) is an oviparous and not a viviparous animal. The eggs are of a very peculiar structure, being long, tapering, and terminated at each end by a pencil of fringed membranaceous substance. They have more the appearance, indeed, of a chrysalis or a cocoon, than of an egg; but their pulp, &c., prove them to be true eggs. The worms when hatched are very agile, and when disturbed will sometimes retreat for safety within the shell which they have just quitted, or instinctively dig into the clay. (Ann. Sc. Nat., Juin, 1828. See also v. 17.)

Vegetable Remains in Coal.-From a comparison of the vegetable remains which accompany the deposits of anthracite in the Alps, with those which characterise the coal formations, it appears that a complete identity of genera and (where the specimens are perfect enough) of species exists in each; but no relation can be traced between those and the remains found in the lias and oolitic formations. Botany, therefore, in this case, leads to a conclusion almost directly opposite to that which has been deduced from observations purely geological, and the study of fossil animals. The identity, if not the close analogy, of plants found in coal-measures (du terrain houiller), in all parts of the globe where coal-fields have been examined, leads us naturally to suppose that the same kind of vegetation existed over the globe at the epoch of the coal formations. Though this is probable, it is not certain, as we still want data for determining the vegetable productions of this period, between the tropics and in the polar regions. Even admitting it in its full extent, we must not thence infer that this uniformity continued during the formation of lias, oolite, chalk, and the strata of the Paris basin.

M. Brongniart is of opinion that, at the period of the formation of the lias, there were two great zones of terrene vegetation, the tropical and the temperate; the former being that which had constituted the only vegetation when the coal-measures were deposited. That the remains of plants belonging to the tropical zone are now found in Alpine anthracite, he explains by referring to their transportation, by means of water, from the tropics; an explanation rendered probable from the remains being always in scattered fragments, never in quantity, nor in a position to indicate that they have grown where they are now found.

GERMANY,

Distant Sight.-Ross, in his Voyage to Baffin's Bay, proved that a man, under favourable circumstances, could see over the surface of the ocean to the extent of 150 English miles. It is not probable that any animal exceeds this power of vision, though birds, perhaps, excel men and most quadrupeds in sharpness of sight. Schmidt threw at a considerable distance from a thrush (Turdus mùsicus) a few small beetles of a pale grey colour, which the unassisted human eye could not discover, yet the thrush observed them immediately and devoured them. The long-tailed titmouse (Parus caudatus) flits with great quickness among the branches of trees, and finds on the very smooth bark its particular food, where nothing is perceptible to the naked eye, though insects can be detected there by the microscope. A very tame red-breast (Sýlvia Rubécula) discovered flies from the height of the branch where it usually sat, at the distance of 18 ft. from the ground, the instant they were thrown down; and this, by bending its head to one side, and using, of course, only one eye, At the same distance a